


What are you doing to me?

by prplpldn (FireLordShiro)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Eventual Keith/Lance (Voltron), Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Fluff, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 07:07:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13094973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireLordShiro/pseuds/prplpldn
Summary: “You don’t need me, Lance!” Keith’s eyes stayed shut but the tears still stung as they gathered. He clenched his free hand into a ball at his side to stem the flow, but the first escaped down his cheek anyway. That finally gave Lance pause. “None of you do.” Keith opened his eyes and found Lance’s, violet irises glistening with emotions that had been withheld for far too long.Lance took a shaky step back and blinked. “What are you talking about?” Keith’s sudden show of emotion was something Lance had never seen before. He found himself wishing that the other paladins hadn’t left them alone.(post season 4 finale/rated explicit for future chapters)





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey, Mullet!” Keith stopped in his tracks at the nickname. Only one person called him Mullet, and the last person he wanted to see right now was Lance. The quick footfalls behind him left no question that an altercation was coming, so Keith took a deep breath and turned to face the blue paladin.

Lance was almost running toward Keith, pulling his helmet off and throwing it aside, bayard long since discarded as he made his way across the hangar. The rage in his eyes was palpable; Keith had never seen him this mad before.

“What the FUCK” Lance reached Keith as he began his question, jabbing his pointer finger into the smaller boy’s chest accusingly, “were you thinking?” 

The force of Lance’s push startled Keith, who faltered a bit before regaining his balance. He scanned the hangar behind Lance and caught sight of the other four paladins, who had just exited their lions. The four exchanged nervous glances and turned to enter the castle. That left Keith alone with Lance and the full force of his anger.

“Fucking sacrificing yourself? What the fuck, Keith? What the fuck are you trying to prove? We all know how badass you think you are, fucking killing yourself isn’t going to help anything! How fucking dare you?” On the last question, Lance punctuated each word with a harder jab into Keith’s chest, forcing him backward until his heel hit the wall of the hangar. Lance’s eyes were ablaze and Keith could tell he wasn’t about to stop this lecture anytime soon.

“You’re fucking crazy, you know that right?” Now that Keith was trapped against the wall, Lance moved his hand away. That hand was now swinging animatedly around them both. Lance always talked with his hands. 

Keith recognized this typical mannerism and something in him slid back into place. He had found some piece of normalcy in this foreign situation and he held on to it tight.

While Lance berated him, Keith pulled off his Blade of Marmora mask and lowered it to his side. He steadied himself with a breath and then looked up at the furious face just slightly above his own. 

“Lance,” he closed his eyes as he said it, willing Lance to quiet down just a little. Normally Keith would argue back immediately, but the full weight of the sacrifice he had been prepared to make had taken a physical toll he hadn’t anticipated. If Lotor hadn’t stepped in at the last minute Keith would have died, and the reality of that was like a knee to the gut.

“-did you just think you don’t matter to the team or something? That we’d just move on without you all the same and say a quick thanks for the sacrifice like we did with Ulaz? You’re such a fucking idiot Keith, how fucking selfish are y-”

“You don’t need me, Lance!” Keith’s eyes stayed shut but the tears still stung as they gathered. He clenched his free hand into a ball at his side to stem the flow, but the first escaped down his cheek anyway. That finally gave Lance pause. “None of you do.” Keith opened his eyes and found Lance’s, violet irises glistening with emotions that had been withheld for far too long.

Lance took a shaky step back and blinked. “What are you talking about?” Keith’s sudden show of emotion was something Lance had never seen before. He found himself wishing that the other paladins hadn’t left them alone.

“You have Allura. You guys are a team. Voltron doesn’t need me anymore,” Keith’s voice trailed off at the end. He started to continue with his train of thought but two strong hands on his shoulders cut into his thoughts.

“You’re the one who left!” Lance shook Keith’s shoulders, holding him an arm’s length away. The anger in his blue eyes had all but dissipated, quickly replaced by concern. “None of us wanted to lose you, Keith. You made the choice to leave and we had to pretend to be okay with it.”

“Yeah but-”

“We knew you needed time to make peace with being Galra. That doesn’t mean it was easy to watch you go, Keith. Part of the team was missing and everyone knew i-”

“Lance, you fly Red now. Shiro is back in his rightful fucking place again. Allura’s a natural. There’s no place for me here!” Now Keith’s eyes were the ones flaring. He was slowly regaining his voice and he stared unflinchingly into Lance’s eyes as his volume kept steadily rising. “It doesn’t matter if I live or die, Lance! I don’t have a family like you and Pidge, I don’t have expectations and duty like Allura, I don’t have anything! If i can die to help defeat Zarkon I’m going to do it! There’s no reason for someone else to die when it can be me, Lance! What the fuck does it matter anyw-”

Keith’s sentence was cut off in the back of his throat when Lance crashed through the space between them and slammed his hands against the wall on either side of Keith’s head. Keith jumped at the sudden movement and his jaw hung open at the look on Lance’s face. Emotions were twisted on the familiar features, each competing for supremacy and each losing in quick succession. The effect was a flickering slideshow of pain, anger, guilt, and disbelief (at least, those were the ones Keith was able to pinpoint). 

“Do you have any idea what you did to me when you left? Do you have any idea how fucking hard it was to be here, not knowing where you were, not knowing if you were alive or dead? And then I get you back after weeks, and you go and try and get yourself killed? How fucking selfish are you, anyway? What the fuck are you doing to me?”

Keith’s brows furrowed while he listened to Lance. “Wha- what are you talking about?” Keith searched the eyes hovering no more than three inches in front of his own, trying to find the source of this latest outburst. Surely Lance couldn’t be serious, could he? Why would Keith’s absence affect him more than the others? Why had he used “I” instead of “we”? 

Keith’s voice seemed to bring Lance back to himself. He blinked. Twice. It was like his mind was clear for the first time since they returned to the castle. Suddenly the small space between him and Keith was palpable. He could feel the heat of Keith’s shallow breaths hitting his face. Lance shivered at the sensation and quickly withdrew his hands from the wall. He staggered a few feet back, shaking his head. Keith moved off the wall, following Lance slowly. 

“What does that mean?” Keith tried again to break through the turmoil still apparent on Lance’s face. He reached one hand out, bridging the distance between them and almost making contact with Lance’s forearm. He took one more questioning step forward and let his fingertips brush against the cloth of the black base layer Lance wore under his armor. Lance jerked away from the touch as soon as it happened.

“Don’t-” Lance basically growled. His eyes found Keith’s again, and anger was back in the blue. 

Lance turned on his heel and stormed away from Keith. He had made his point, and then it got hazy. Why had he said those things? Why did he have such a strong reaction to Keith’s comments? 

Lance reached the door to the castle and practically ran to his room. He had to get away from Keith. He couldn’t talk to anyone else right now either. Not until he found out what was going on. 

“What the fuck?” He asked the question aloud when he got into his own room. He sat down on the edge of the bed and held his head in his hands, running fingers through the sweaty brown hair there. “Why didn’t I just say “we”? What the fuck?” Lance hadn’t said those things on purpose. He made it about himself subconsciously. It was like his brain wasn’t aware of what his body wanted to say, and one acted without the other’s approval. But why?

He needed a shower. Yes, shower was a good idea. Maybe he could collect his thoughts there. At the very least, the hot water would feel nice on his battle-tired muscles. 

While he walked towards the bathroom in the corner of his room, his mind wandered back to Keith. To the look in his eyes when Lance had said those things. The look in his eyes when he had reached out for Lance. That look. Was it… hope?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one is from Keith's POV. i'm staying with keith's pov because i love him

Keith knew that he would catch hell from his teammates for his attempted sacrifice. He anticipated a lecture from Shiro, Allura, and Coran, a harsh reprimand from Pidge, maybe a bear hug from Hunk. He hadn’t really considered how Lance would react. He never would have guessed that it would be like this.

It was two days after their fight in the hangar and Lance still hadn’t looked Keith in the eye. 

The Blade and Voltron had already had three strategy meetings regarding Lotor and how to move forward. Since working together now required such intricate coordination, Keith and a few other high ranking Blade members were permitted to stay at the castle. When Allura delivered this news, the other paladins clapped Keith on the back and told him how much they missed him but Lance ignored him completely. At meals Lance would look everywhere but in Keith’s direction. During training Lance would avoid hand to hand combat just so he could stay out of Keith’s orbit. Lance would discuss strategy with any Blade member other than Keith. 

It seemed like no one except for Keith had noticed this change in Lance’s behavior. Usually he loved any chance to one up Keith, to tease him about his hair, or to get under his skin. They’d had their fair share of arguments in the past but this one was just… so different. Keith didn’t know how to approach the subject with Lance again, but he knew that they couldn’t just act like it never happened. Keith wouldn’t pretend that it didn’t happen. He couldn’t. 

***

It was late when Keith left the training deck. Everyone else in the castle should have been long asleep but Keith just couldn’t let himself relax. His mind was full of thoughts of Zarkon and the Blade, and, of course, Lance. Keith shook his head as he walked through the halls of the castle, willing himself to think of anything else.

He was passing the kitchen when voices stopped him in his tracks. Instincts kicked in and Keith pressed himself against the wall and inched sideways, closer to the open doorway. He steadied his breathing and stayed as still as possible to make out the voices whose owners clearly thought they were alone. 

“So you just, what, blew up at him?” 

That was Pidge. Keith would recognize her voice anywhere.

“Yeah man, we were all worried when it happened but you went way overboard.”

Hunk. Definitely Hunk.

“I didn’t mean to,” the voice was barely more than a whisper but Keith could pick out Lance’s voice at even this faint volume. “I really don’t know what came over me.”  
Wait. Were they? They weren’t… talking about him? There’s no way Keith stumbled upon a private conversation about himself. No way.

“I just- I don’t know.” Keth could practically see the expression on Lance’s face, the slouch of his shoulders, just from the tone he was using. Lance was torn. He didn’t understand. Keith ached to help him.

“You still try to convince people that you’re rivals or whatever but no one buys it, Lance,” Pidge was talking again, “you don’t hate Keith. I don’t think you ever did. You just won’t be honest with yourself.”

“Honest about what?” Lance’s question came off harsh, and Keith imagined Pidge reeling backward from the force of it.

“Don’t get mad at us, dude, you’re the one that can’t see the truth.” Hunk again.

“What are you even talking about? What truth?”

Keith could hear the sighs coming from Hunk and Pidge. He could feel the look they exchanged. He gulped and turned to walk back the same direction he had come from. He couldn’t get to his room without passing by the open kitchen door, and that wasn’t an option. At least not right at this minute. 

Keith entered the door to the training deck again and stalked off to a door on his right, to the locker room and communal shower the team used after workouts. He didn’t like using this shower but he was still sweaty from his training and he knew he needed to bathe. He could run the clock here and hopefully Lance, Pidge, and Hunk would be gone by the time he was finished.

Keith dropped onto a bench and started peeling his paladin armor from his body. He hadn’t worn the red and white suit in weeks, but it felt more natural than the Blade suit when he was in the castle. He had pulled it on subconsciously when he had left his room to train, and who was he to question his subconscious?

Once all of the armor and black bodysuit were gone, Keith grabbed a towel and walked toward the shower stall. He turned on the first shower head he came to and hot water fell onto him instantly. He sighed at the sensation, closing his eyes and succumbing to the warmth. Something about hot water had always been therapeutic to him, ever since he was a kid. And now that he was an almost adult fighting an intergalactic war for the fate of the universe, old comforts were few and far between. Keith treasured his time in the shower, and tonight was no different. He let the water cover him for well over thirty minutes before he proceeded with cleaning himself. Hair first, then the rest of his body. 

When he finally turned the shower off he was rejuvenated, but also very sleepy. Maybe now he could actually get some rest. Keith reached beyond the shower to grab for the towel he brought with him and wrapped it around his hips before stepping out onto the tile. 

Only then did his thoughts drift back to the conversation he had overheard. So Lance wouldn’t let himself accept the truth, according to Pidge. What truth? And they had said that Lance had never hated Keith, though Lance had made it abundantly clear - on multiple occasions - that he did. Was he lying to himself? Overcompensating? But for what?

Keith’s head was reeling with the possibilities, with the endless questions that he had, and maybe that was why his senses were less than sharp as he traipsed back into the locker room to fetch his armor before leaving for the night. He ran a hand through his wet hair before leaning down to pick up the discarded armor when he heard a quick intake of breath from behind him. 

Keith blinked and turned two seconds slower than he normally would have. His reaction time really was suffering tonight. But still, he turned to find the source of the noise, and locked eyes with, “Lance.”

A flush raised on Lance’s features when Keith said his name. His hand was frozen in mid air, reaching into his own locker for something unseen, and his eyes flitted away from Keith’s own and down to his chiseled torso, seemingly of their own accord. They snaked along Keith’s chest, his biceps, his shoulders, before settling back onto his face. Lance didn’t seem to be fully in control of his own body.

“I, uh-” Lance started, and then snapped to attention when he realized he was still staring. “My face wash…” He pulled the small blue bottle from the open locker in front of him as an explanation, searching Keith’s face for some acknowledgment that it was good enough.

Keith nodded, still confused, and Lance gulped. 

Lance shut the locker and turned toward the door. When he pulled it open he paused, turned around, looked like he wanted to say something. Then he shook his head. He stole one last glance at Keith before he left, leaving a very dazed samurai in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! this is my first work i've ever put online so all of the bookmarks and kudos mean so much =')
> 
> will update soon !! happy holidays everyone


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lance is figuring things out. and keith? keith's BEEN knowing.
> 
> also allura isn't in this sequence because i didn't know how she would react ???

“FUCK!” Keith swore as Shiro’s boot made contact with the side of his head, knocking him to the floor in an ungraceful heap. The pain had sparks popping in and out of his vision while he laid on the training deck, chest heaving from exertion. 

“You’re off your game,” Shiro gently chided him, offering a hand to Keith to help raise him into a sitting position. Once Keith was righted, Shiro bent his knees and balanced on the balls of his feet, leaning close to inspect Keith’s eyes for any signs of concussion. Keith let Shiro go full dad mode with no objections, having learned early on that it was easier not to argue. He just sat there, listening absently to the sounds of the other paladins moving through exercises on the deck, their grunts, and the familiar swishing noises as swords and knives sliced through the air, occasionally eliciting a metallic *clang* when they met metal.

Shiro sighed and stood, again offering his hand (his human one) to Keith. Keith took it and used the leverage to pull himself upright. Shiro towered over him as usual, but Keith was used to it by now. The black paladin laid a reassuring hand on Keith’s shoulder and used it to guide him to the side of the deck. Shiro told him to take a break, just a few minutes to recover from the hit. Keith was too tired to fight, so he just sighed and obeyed, taking a seat on the edge of the floor as Shiro rejoined the other three paladins in maneuvering through the new obstacle course Coran had come up with.

Keith hadn’t slept at all the night before, the whole run in with Lance reversed all of the relaxing effects of the shower he had taken. Keith hadn’t even tossed and turned, he just laid still in his bed, eyes on the ceiling, thinking through every interaction he’d had with Lance since they met. He’d analyzed their arguments, their teasing, their laughing together, and the teamwork and camaraderie that Allura and Coran had come to expect from them. He tried to make sense of it all. 

Keith had known he was gay for a while now, since before the Garrison, even. He had also known he was attracted to Lance for quite some time, not that he would ever do anything about it. Lance was the most heterosexual dude Keith had ever met. He projected his sexual preference onto anyone he met, no shame whatsoever. It had rubbed Keith the wrong way at first, but now he used it as ammo to tease Lance whenever he could. Their relationship had evolved, and Keith valued it. He wouldn’t go spilling his secrets just to mess everything up. That’s just stupid.

But Lance’s behavior since Keith’s intended sacrifice hadn’t fit the script of their established relationship. He should have given Keith shit for the move, and then left the serious lecturing to Shiro. But he didn’t. Keith had never seen Lance so full of fire in the year or more they had been teammates. He reacted more strongly than any of the other paladins, that was for sure. And Keith didn’t understand.

That was weird enough, but then the silent treatment? Fucking weird, man. 

And what about the shower? The fucking shower. Lance should have teased the shit out of Keith for catching him in only a towel. Given him shit for his lack of attention to his skin’s desperate need for moisturizer, probably. But no, he just stood there, staring. It wasn’t like him at all, and Keith couldn’t shake the feeling that something within Lance had snapped. He just didn’t know why.

“Keith, come on, you’re fine!” Shiro called from the middle of the room, pulling Keith from his musings and back to the present. 

“Yeah, coming,” Keith stood and walked slowly to where the rest of team Voltron stood listening to Coran explain the next exercise they were to be put through.

“The point here is to emphasize anticipating your opponent’s actions and responding to them effectively.” His orange mustache twitched with every word, Keith noticed, but he decided to keep that thought to himself for now. “No weapons now, put that blaster away Hunk, you won’t need it. No, this is strictly hand to hand combat. Now, who wants to go first?”

“I’m up!” Lance’s hand immediately shot into the air as if he was in a fifth grade classroom. Coran nodded to him and Lance moved to stand in the middle of the others, beaming at having been selected. 

No one else was as enthusiastic, likely tired from the training they’d already done. So Coran chose. “Keith, you’re alright?” Coran’s eyes found Keith’s, and Keith drew his eyebrows together questioningly but nodded. “Right then, you’ll grapple with Lance first. Everyone else, fall back.”

Keith saw Lance’s confident smile falter, and their eyes met for the first time since the night before. Was it because he knew Keith was the best at hand to hand combat, or was it because he now had to interact with Keith, one on one, in front of everyone? Keith didn’t know, but he pushed the thought aside. He tightened the ponytail holding his hair back and bent his knees just so, pulling his hands up close to his face in his combat stance, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand.

It took Lance a beat longer to get with the program, but Keith saw resolve flash through his opponent’s eyes and watched as Lance copied Keith’s movements and assumed his own stance, gently bouncing back and forth on his toes.

“Anticipate each other’s movements, now,” Coran encouraged from a few yards away, but still neither boy moved. Their eyes were locked, waiting for any signal from the other that meant the start. 

Keith simply waited, watching Lance’s face as the time ticked by. And then it happened. Lance’s face registered the decision a split second before he lunged forward, launching himself from the ground and aiming a kick at Keith’s head. Keith ducked it, crouching low until the leg cleared the air above him and popping up before it landed back on the ground. Now Lance was facing to the side, and he used the momentum to come back at Keith with both fists, one after the other, each being deflected and forced aside, Keith now cemented on the defensive.

Keith stepped backward with every punch he blocked, Lance advancing on him quickly. Then one came so close to his face that he could dodge it, and he grabbed Lance’s forearm before his fist could come back from the air over Keith’s shoulder. Keith turned, Lance’s arm in hand, bringing his other hand to clench onto Lance’s upper arm near his armpit, and pulled. Lance grunted as he flew through the air, flying over Keith’s shoulder and hitting the ground with a thud.

“Well done, Keith!” Coran commented from significantly farther away, having cleared more space when the sparring had begun. “Right, again! This time you take the offensive, Keith. Lance, it’s your turn to anticipate Keith’s movements.”

Lance rose from the floor, a blush barely evident on his cheeks, clearly embarrassed to have been bested. Nevertheless, he moved back into position opposite from Keith and waited.

This time Keith’s movement was immediate. He gave Lance no time to adjust as he pushed forward, arm slicing down above Lance’s shoulder, mimicking a sword which would have cut right through the blue paladin’s armor. That is, if Lance hadn’t sidestepped at the very last second, leaving Keith hurtling toward the floor. 

Keith stumbled but caught himself before he fell, whipping around to catch the smirk on Lance’s face as he moved into the space that had been occupied by Keith just moments prior. A growl escaped Keith before he charged Lance again and again, leveling hit after hit that somehow Lance managed to avoid. When Keith finally accepted that the punches weren’t working (Lance was really good at reading him, who knew?), he decided that a new approach was in order.

He took one step back and spun, using his momentum to pull his leg up higher than his head, level with Lance’s face with enough force to knock him off his feet. Keith’s attention was so laser focused on his own attack that he didn’t even see Lance drop down, imitating Keith’s motion perfectly but actually making contact with the back of the red paladin’s knee, sweeping a kick so quickly below Keith that his balance immediately buckled and sent him onto the mat.

The sound of Keith’s fall echoed off the walls of the training deck, and for a moment everyone was silent. 

And then a high pitched “whoop!” from Pidge broke the tension, and soon the others had gathered around, congratulating Lance and pulling Keith up from the ground. 

“Well, there is a first time for everything!” Coran positively beamed, elbowing Lance for emphasis. This was the first time anyone but Shiro had taken Keith down in hand to hand combat. 

Keith exhaled hard, thoroughly spent and not embarrassed in the least. Lance had made significant progress since the last time they had trained together.

Keith held a hand out to Lance, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, “Nice job, dude, I’m impressed. Didn’t know you could fight like that.”

Lance held Keith’s gaze, but his face never broke into a smile. He never acknowledged the hand offered to him like an olive branch. He never warmed at the attention from the others. He was stone.

“Yeah, well, you would’ve known if you hadn’t left. Someone had to pick up the slack.”

Keith’s smile fell, as did his hand. His eyes searched Lance’s for an answer, but they found none. Then the blue paladin dropped his gaze and walked off, bypassing the locker room and leaving the training deck altogether. 

Keith was taken aback. He racked his brain for something to say, but he came up empty. He looked around him, from face to face of his team members, asking without asking for someone to say something. Pidge fidgeted with her helmet. Hunk rubbed one hand on the back of his neck. Coran crossed his arms and opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it. Shiro’s eyes were sad when they met Keith’s, but he gave no explanation.

Anger burst, hot and thick, in Keith’s stomach. He balled his hands into fists before he broke into a full sprint, following Lance’s path into the castle. 

Lance hadn’t gotten far, so Keith caught up with him quickly. 

“HEY!” Lance looked over his shoulder just in time to see Keith running at him, just in time to see the fury in the purple eyes before Keith grabbed one of Lance’s shoulders and yanked him around roughly, almost throwing him to the ground again.

“Who the fuck do you think you are, Lance?” Keith’s brows were furrowed and his arms were outstretched, again asking for answers to questions he had only asked himself. “You’ve been weird as fuck since we got back from that mission! Yeah, you’re mad, I get it, but seriously? You already said you understood why I left, so why do you keep throwing it in my face? I’m still here, aren’t I? I’m still fighting for the same things you are!” 

The fire in Lance’s eyes was mirrored in Keith’s, but he seemed content to let Keith get his yelling out. There was something else in his face, in the way his eyes moved over Keith’s features, that Keith hadn’t seen before. But now wasn’t the time to think about that.

“If you were in the same position, you would’ve sacrificed yourself too, Lance! I know you would have! For the good of the team!” Keith’s voice was breaking, unwanted emotion cracking through the raw anger as he kept going, “How was I supposed to know I hurt you if you didn’t tell me, Lance? This isn’t fair! You don’t get to act like this and not tell me why! This isn’t just because you’re mad, you’ve been mad at me before! I know you better than that! So just tell me what the fuck it is!”

A beat passed after Keith’s outburst before Lance reacted, but then his eyes steeled, decision made. 

Lance closed the distance between them with one step. One hand reached out to Keith’s chest and fisted in the shirt there, pulling the red paladin forward. The other hand reached the back of Keith’s head, settling just above the ponytail. Keith hadn’t even registered what was happening before Lance’s lips were on his own, pressing firmly enough to make a point but not hard enough for it to hurt.

Keith was completely still, shock flooding his system. Then he felt his eyes flutter shut and one hand come up to Lance’s face, body moving of its own accord. His lips softened against Lance’s, and he ever so gently pushed back into the kiss. 

And then, realizing what he had done, Lance’s eyes snapped open and he recoiled from Keith, pulling his hands away and holding them up, as if trying to prove that he hadn’t done anything. Keith fought to regain his breath, heart pounding against his ribcage. And when he raised his eyes back up to meet Lance’s, he found the pupils blown wide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaahhhh cliffhangers are the WORST but i had to do it. had to!!!
> 
> thank you for waiting patiently through my exposition :) the writer in me had to have some development before the good stuff.
> 
> staaaay tuned


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> y'all. it. yeah.
> 
> long time coming, amiright

Sometimes things happen in life, and whether they were expected or not, they all but knock the wind out of you. Reason goes out the window. Instincts, raw and unbidden, take over. Body moves before brain can catch up, and brain, numb to all but the present, throws caution to the birds. Want becomes desire becomes overwhelming need. No thoughts. Just action.

***

No thoughts. Just action.

Those were the words Keith repeated in his head as he stared at Lance, clearly laboring for breath mere feet away. His hands were still raised, palms out, and his mouth moved without speaking. His eyes had never been wider, and his caramel skin was paler than Keith had ever seen, shock and fear and confusion etched across his face.

But Lance had kissed him. Lance. Kissed Keith. And Keith didn’t know how to process that information, so he chose not to.

Instead, he crossed the distance between them and reached up to cup Lance’s chin with his hand. Blue eyes met violet and the space between them shrank.

“Just tell me to stop,” Keith breathed, searching Lance’s eyes for any signs that what he was doing wasn’t warranted. He found none. Lance met his gaze with a fearful one of his own, unsure of what was happening but willing to find out. Keith’s resolve solidified, and his eyes flicked down to Lance’s lips once before he leaned forward to capture them with his own.

The kiss was light, meant only to test the waters. Lance’s mouth was soft and warm, and tasted vaguely sweet, perhaps from breakfast. Keith pressed their lips together for a few seconds before pulling back, still holding Lance’s face, and opening his eyes enough to see Lance’s expression. His eyes were glazed, half open. But the hunger in them was undeniable.

Before Keith had a chance to move or even speak he felt strong hands at his waist and Lance was kissing him. Really kissing him. A low growl escaped from Keith’s throat and he brought his hands together around Lance’s neck, winding through the soft brown hair and pulling him even closer. 

All he could hear was the heartbeat in his ears, growing louder with every second that passed. All he could feel was Lance’s hands, growing ever more confident and exploring Keith’s waist, his back, his shoulders, his neck. All he could taste was Lance breathing against him, mouth open and inviting, a tentative tongue meeting his own in a careful dance. All he could see was stars.

Lance broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Keith’s, breathing ragged and eyes closed. Keith’s eyes stayed open, searching Lance’s face tirelessly, searching for clues about what the taller boy was thinking and finding none. Finding none until Lance opened his eyes and again found Keith’s, fire pulsing white hot in the blue irises, no indecision in sight. Seeing Lance like that, undone and wanting, broke something within Keith. Something snapped, and Keith had never before felt the pure desire that he did then.

He groaned, eyes closing again, and pulled Lance flush against him, claiming his mouth over and over. He felt more than heard the answering moans from Lance, ripping from his throat and flooding Keith’s mouth with the gentle vibrations. 

“Tell me to stop,” Keith breathed out once more, pulling away from Lance for a split second before diving back in again. Lance’s answer was to tighten his grip on Keith and start walking, pushing the smaller boy along the corridor towards the kitchen, past the kitchen, on to the hallway that held their bedrooms. 

The walk was slow and clumsy, bumping into walls and tripping over doorways because neither paladin was willing to break the kiss. Finally they reached the familiar hall and Lance’s door slid open when he lifted one hand off of Keith to press against the cool metal. They stumbled over the threshold, still refusing to break contact, and Keith took charge.

He turned them so that Lance was the one walking backwards, then pulled his hands from Lance’s hair and placed them firmly on his chest, pushing him back to land on his bed, sweaty and waiting, eyes following Keith’s movement. Keith turned to make sure the door locked and then moved closer to the edge of the bed, closer to Lance. He looked down at the blue paladin and felt a surge of uncertainty.

“Tell me to stop,” Keith all but pleaded, restraining himself from touching Lance again, to give him time to change his mind.

“No,” Lance finally spoke, and Keith’s heart broke, his subconscious immediately telling him that Lance regretted it, that he didn’t want this, he didn’t want Keith. But Lance reached out for him, grabbed the front of his shirt like he did the first time, and yanked Keith forward into his personal space. “Don’t stop.”

Keith should have been embarrassed by the sound that came out of him, the half growl half whine that tore through the air in Lance’s room and almost echoed off the walls. He should have been but he wasn’t, not in the least. Because Lance’s hands were on him, pulling him into his lap, pulling his legs to either side of Lance’s waist.

And Keith’s mouth devoured Lance’s, tongues clashing in a battle for control that neither wanted to win. Lance’s hands found Keith’s backside, and a sharp moan broke through their kiss when he squeezed. Keith arched back into the touch. With Lance’s hands on him he finally noticed the tug in his abdomen, the new tightness of his pants that he was only used to feeling when he was alone. Keith rocked backward into Lance’s hands and then forward, grinding down into his lap and gasping at the hardness he found waiting for him. Lance groaned at the contact, bucking his hips up to meet Keith’s, rubbing circles into the supple flesh of Keith’s ass in his hands. 

Keith felt Lance’s hands venturing upward slowly, moving up to his lower back under the black shirt he had worn for training that day. Keith broke the kiss, earning a whimper from Lance, and lifted his shirt over his head in one smooth motion. His reward was Lance’s reaction. Lance pulled back, took his time admiring Keith’s chest, his abs, his biceps, the defined lines of muscle that ripped across his skin from his neck to his hips, hinting dangerously at what lie below.

And then Lance’s hands were on Keith’s ass again, pulling him even closer, mouth closing upon mouth. But this time Lance wandered, planting kisses along Keith’s jaw, up to his ear where he pulled the lobe into his mouth gently, eliciting a breathy whimper from Keith. He trailed his kisses down, gently biting and sucking along the tender skin of Keith’s neck, not caring if he left marks. Keith almost objected when he felt Lance pull one hand away from his ass, but then yelped in surprise as he felt that hand come down fast and hard against it.

That was enough teasing for Keith. He let his hands trail down Lance’s sides until he found the hem of t-shirt he was searching for, and pulled the offending fabric over Lance’s head before he found Lance’s mouth yet again. Keith ground his hips down hard, pressing his erection against Lance’s own. The moans it pulled from Lance mirrored the ones that Keith himself made, filling the air with lewd gasps and sighs to accompany the sounds of fevered kissing, of sweaty bodies moving over each other.

Lance’s fingers traced the waist of Keith’s leggings, playing with the seam at the top, gauging Keith’s reaction before exploring lower. Keith arched his back in response, encouraging Lance to move under the clothing, to explore the flesh that burned to be touched. Lance got the hint, pressing his hands flat against Keith’s back and pushing lower, lower-

Sirens. Loud and screeching. Red lights flashed through the air, breaking the spell that had held the two paladins together. They broke apart, each scanning the room wildly before landing back on the other. The reality of what they had done washed over them like ice water, freezing them in time while the world spun and burned and fell all around them. 

The intercom in Lance’s room broke through the trance, Allura’s voice filling the space around them.

“The castle is under attack! Paladins, get to your lions immediately!”

Keith rose from Lance’s lap, eyes wide. Lance stared at him for a moment before gulping and moving to a closet in the corner of the room, pulling on his blue armor purely from muscle memory. He was dazed, quiet, as he went through the motions he had gone through countless times. 

Lance stopped at the door and looked back at Keith, sadness in his eyes as he realized that Keith wasn’t going with him. 

Keith smiled at Lance, trying his best to be encouraging, fighting the pit that had formed in his stomach. “Take good care of Red.”

Lance nodded and stepped through the door, into the chaos that lay beyond, into the real world. Keith watched him go from his place by the bed, watched him walk away, and wondered if things would ever be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so hard to write i haven't ever written smut before and while it's still not technically SMUT it's getting close and HOOOO BOY i wrote this at my roommate's family's kitchen table and let me tell you that shit is not advised.
> 
> i got a comment on the last chapter about keith's insecurities and how important they are so i decided to write them more. i hope it worked. i love him.
> 
> anyway i love you thanks for reading and leaving bookmarks/subs/kudos/comments it makes everything so much better.
> 
> i'll try and update soon but i gotta decompress from this hhhhmmmmm


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OKAY I FELT LIKE I COULDN'T GO STRAIGHT TO SEX CAUSE REALISTICALLY I DON'T THINK THEY WOULD BANG IMMEDIATELY SO HERE'S MORE EXPOSITION AND LOTS OF FLUFFY FEELS DON'T HATE ME i love them

The castle had been intercepted by a Galra fleet patrolling the Aytolan system. 

Four carriers were on them almost instantly, the particle barrier up just in time to prevent blasters from colliding with the defenseless ship. Coran deployed the five lions as soon as their paladins were in place, but since the majority of the Blade members were at an off-site, undisclosed location (reconnaissance mission for information on Zarkon’s fleet), Keith and the other high ranking BoM members remained on the ship.

This left Keith in the castle’s control room during a Voltron battle for the first time. He watched as Red left her hangar, faster and more agile than the others, and thought again about the progress that Lance had made in the last few months. Did Keith fly that gracefully, that quickly and purposefully, when he bore the title of red paladin? Or was Lance Red’s rightful pilot the whole time?

Then he caught sight of the black lion, effortlessly imposing and flying with a sense of calm power that only Shiro could command. Keith paled in comparison as the black paladin, he was sure. There was no way for him to match Shiro’s clear and concise decision making, his uncanny ability to direct all five lions in battle and make the right decisions every time. Keith made so many mistakes as the leader. Shiro was unparalleled. 

A new voice broke through Keith’s internal monologue, bringing him back to reality, where yet another life and death mission confronted team Voltron.

“Guys, you’ll have to take out those carriers if we’re gonna get out of here. The fighter jets don’t stand a chance against Voltron but you can’t let the carriers turn their firepower on you.” Keith turned to find the source of the voice, and he found a new person whom he recognized immediately. The nose, the eyes, the disheveled hair that was a confusing shade between brown and blond could only belong to Matthew Holt. He looked so much like his sister it was startling. Especially when Pidge’s voice responded through the intercoms.

“Tell me something I don’t know, Matt,” Coran chuckled at Pidge’s response. He had clearly grown used to the gentle banter between the siblings since Matt and the other rebels had joined the Voltron alliance. 

“The gravitational force of a black hole is so strong that the spacetime surrounding it is-”

“Bent to an infinite curvature. And water is wet.” Pidge interrupted her brother and finished his sentence, spewing theories of quantum physics like someone would give directions. Matt chuckled to himself, clearly pleased with his sister’s vast knowledge, but he wasn’t able to respond as yet another new voice joined the others in the control room.

“Clever, but wit alone won’t take down these carriers, paladin.”

The hair on the back of Keith’s neck stood on end. He knew this voice. He had almost forgotten about his presence on the ship since the intended sacrifice. He couldn’t deny it anymore though, as he turned to his left and locked eyes with Prince Lotor himself. The Galran prince had a bemused expression on his face, as if he expected for Keith to bristle at his approach. He had saved Keith’s ass, sure, but Keith still didn’t have to like the guy.

“Alright team, enough waiting around. Form Voltron!” Shiro’s voice boomed through the intercom, and Keith tore his eyes from Lotor’s in time to see all five lions shoot upward together, forming the defender of the universe. He had never watched it happen from the outside, and he stood in awe of the beauty and power that the robot exuded. 

“You can take these carriers out the same way you did the last time. Lance, you’re up. We need that sword.” Coran spoke calmly, arms crossed and gaze locked on the form of Voltron in the distance. 

“Wh- what?” Lance’s voice over the intercom hit Keith like a train and he lost his breath for a moment. His eyes widened when he recognized the fogginess in Lance’s voice, the distraction that Keith was responsible for. Keith’s hand reached for his own neck, absently tracing the marks that Lance had left mere minutes prior. If this mission failed, Keith was solely responsible. He had taken Lance’s mind away from training. He was to blame if anything went wrong.

“Lance! Focus! We need the sword!” This time it was Allura, voice gentle but demanding. It seemed to wake Lance up, and he turned his bayard within Red, conjuring the giant sword from nowhere. 

“Sorry, sorry. I’m here. I got it.” The voice was stronger now, more sure. Keith exhaled slowly, letting himself believe that they could do it, that Lance could do it. They’d done it before. There was no reason to think this time would be any different.

Except that it was different. 

Now Keith was powerless, watching as the most important people in his world put themselves in harm’s way. As the people who meant the most put their lives on the line for the welfare of people and creatures throughout the galaxy. As fate played out before his very eyes, not caring that he was having trouble breathing, that his heart was in danger of beating right out of his chest. Not caring that he was so scared of something happening to Lance that his throat burned, his eyes refused to close, his muscles tensed to the point of pain. 

Was this how Lance felt watching Keith fly straight at Zarkon’s ship? Did he feel the same awful pit in his stomach, the raw terror that rendered him immobile? Did he feel like he was watching his whole world fly straight up to death’s door? Did time stand still?

Keith didn’t know. He didn’t have time to consider it. All he could do was watch. Watch and wait. Helpless.

***

The mission was a success. Voltron took out all four carriers within minutes, the fighter jets abandoning the scene shortly after. The paladins returned to the ship, Allura created a wormhole to escape in, and the castle jumped far, far away from the Aytolan system.

Hunk decided to prepare a celebratory dinner for everyone on the ship. That meant a dinner with the paladins, the rebels, the Blade, and Lotor. The whole affair was loud and colorful, the food goo was palatable, reminiscent of steak and the closest to Earth food that Hunk had gotten so far. 

Keith sat between Shiro and Coran and pushed the food goo around his plate for the entire dinner. He never regained his appetite after the battle. Lance was across the table from him, but they carefully avoided each other’s gaze. At one point Shiro touched the side of Keith’s neck, asked about the red marks there. Lance immediately turned his attention to Allura, tried to hide the blush creeping across his cheeks. Keith blamed the marks on training, insisting he fell harder than he realized. Shiro didn’t look convinced but let the questions slide, rejoining the merry conversations and leaving Keith to his thoughts.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Keith was at the table and then he was excusing himself, and then he found himself in his own shower, letting the hot water fall around him. His mind was numb. He went through the motions without thinking, washing his hair and his body, pulling on pajamas and sliding into bed. Turning off the lamp on his bedside table. Pulling the blankets up to his chin, shifting onto his side to face the wall.

But sleep wouldn’t come. No matter what he did. He counted sheep, counted backward from 100, counted the ticks from the clock on the wall. Nothing. 

It was right around 2 AM when Keith finally surrendered. He pulled himself out of bed and started walking, feet dragging him to the kitchen to get water. Maybe he could clear his head and finally get some rest. He needed it.

His mindless wandering didn’t take him to the kitchen. He realized where he was only after he had stopped walking, feet bringing him to the one place he needed to go, the one place he didn’t realize he wanted to be. 

Lance must have been awake too, because the soft sounds of Keith’s footsteps brought him to the door. It slid open quickly and caught Keith off guard. He looked at Lance briefly, not knowing where to start, what to say. Lance reached out and gently guided Keith into his room before anyone saw him in the hallway. 

The door closed behind them once Keith crossed the threshold, and then silence fell. Keith remembered how different the circumstances were the last time he was here, just yesterday. Earlier today? Whatever. When they had made out on Lance’s bed. Very different from now.

Keith felt the tears sting his face before he knew he was crying, and the broken sob that escaped from his lips was beyond his control. He felt a warm hand on his back and turned into Lance’s touch, burying his face in the robe covering the taller boy’s chest, letting his emotions take over.

“I- Lance I’m s-” The sobs rocked through Keith, breaking his words and forcing his shoulders to quake harder. “I’m so sorry, I d- I didn’t know.” 

Lance pulled Keith in to him closer, resting one hand on the raven hair and another on his back, rubbing reassuring circles and whispering calming words. He let Keith cry into his clothes, let him feel everything that he had held back for so long.

“I didn’t know,” Keith repeated, trying to find the control to say what he needed to say. “I didn’t know what it w- was like.” Lance brought a hand up to Keith’s face, wiped a tear away from his cheek. “What it was like to see someone you care about- to see them-” Keith shuddered, “see them in so much danger and be so helpless to save them.”

Lance’s lips found Keith’s forehead, pressing light kisses to his hair and skin there, murmuring against him.

“If I- if I made you feel anything like what I felt today,” Keith gulped, summoning as much willpower as his weak body would allow, “I had no idea. I’m so, so sorry. Lance, I’m so sorry. I’ve never been more sorry.” 

Then Keith succumbed to his cries, let them crack through him like nothing ever had before. He shuddered with each one as they ripped across his body.

And Lance was moving them, walking gently toward the bed, pulling Keith down with him. He let Keith’s head rest on his chest, pulled him tight against his side. He wrapped one hand around Keith’s waist, holding him close, and the other rested on his stomach. Keith found that one, closed his own around it. 

Lance’s hand traced absent minded patterns against Keith’s side, quiet “shhhh’s” escaping his lips now and again. 

How long Lance comforted him, Keith didn’t know. He didn’t know when exactly he stopped crying, either. But somewhere between the sobs racking through his body and the soft movement of Lance’s fingers on his side, sleep finally found him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i will sleep soundly knowing that my space gays are sleeping soundly. and tomorrow i will figure out where this goes next cause idek
> 
> side note im updating so regularly i feel like im setting unrealistic expectations so hmmm but also oh well i have free time ???


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i love my boys

Keith’s sleep schedule was irreparable at this point. Since leaving Earth and losing the Sun as an alarm clock, his body never knew what time it was or how long it had been asleep. That’s why he was so disoriented the next morning when he woke up, or at least, that’s what he made himself believe.

His body was stiff for some reason. It was how he used to feel when he slept through the night without moving, but that hadn’t happened in years. Not since before his mom left. But he did it last night, apparently. Why?

He opened one sleepy eye to find his clock, to see what time it actually was and if he needed to wake up or if he could go back to sleep. He didn’t find the clock. Odd.

Then he felt it. The gentle rise and fall right under his cheek. Keith froze. Soft snores found his ears. And it all came rushing back.

He was in Lance’s bed. Keith. Was in Lance’s bed. Laying on Lance’s chest. Lance’s arm was wrapped around his waist. Heat spread across his face immediately and he involuntarily jerked away from Lance’s touch. Even in his sleep, Lance didn’t like that. His hand flexed possessively around Keith and pulled him tighter against his chest. He guided Keith into the crook of his neck and rested his chin on top of the mullet he so loved to tease.

And Keith was trapped. In Lance’s bed. In Lance’s arms. Great.

Keith exhaled heavily before he realized that he did. Lance stirred, and Keith’s eyes grew wide as he braced himself for whatever reaction Lance would have to finding Keith there, wrapped around him. 

He felt the arm around his middle move, felt it loosen, and Lance pulled back far enough to look at Keith. Keith met his gaze, face close enough to see the faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of Lance’s nose. Keith gulped and slowly started to push back from the proximity. This time Lance let him, but his hand stayed on Keith the whole time. From his waist, to his back, then to his forearm when Keith withdrew far enough to lay on his back on the far side of Lance’s bed. Lance mirrored Keith’s posture then, laying facing the ceiling. 

Their sighs came in tandem, and Lance chuckled. He turned his head to look at Keith, who felt the heat of the gaze on the side of his face. Lance was the first to speak.

“We need to talk.”

Keith turned his head toward Lance now, and saw sincerity in his eyes. Here goes nothing.

So Keith detangled himself from Lance’s limbs and pulled himself up into a sitting position, crossing his legs in front of him. He grabbed a pillow from the top of the bed and held it in his lap, hugging it close. Lance had already seen him cry the night before, so Keith didn’t care that Lance knew he was anxious now too.

Lance sat up too, leaning his back against his headboard and stretching out his long legs. He took a deep breath and then started talking.

“I’m sorry I got so mad at you after the last mission. I guess you got a taste of it yesterday when you were stuck here while we fought those ships, but it still doesn’t give me the right to act the way I did.” Lance was wringing his hands in his lap, gaze unfocused and landing on the bed sheets in front of him. “At the time I didn’t even know why I reacted so strongly, but I’m starting to come to terms with it.”

Keith saw the blush rise in Lance’s cheeks and he almost stopped breathing completely. He was transfixed, eyes glued to Lance’s face and heart hammering in his chest.

“I… I never really hated you,” the admission hung in the air between them for a moment before Lance continued, “I was jealous of how good you were back at the Garrison. And I just tried to get under your skin to feel like I was part of the team. I just did it to get a reaction. And then, after some time, it became less about teasing you and more about…” Now Lance found Keith’s eyes, just a few feet away, wide open in rapt attention. “It was about having a reason to talk to you.”

Keith had lost the ability to breathe. Death was imminent. Lance kept going.

“I didn’t know why I was doing it, I didn’t let myself think about it. But after that mission, after you tried to sacrifice yourself and I was convinced that you were never coming back-” Lance choked once, catching himself on emotions he hadn’t let out in front of anyone, “it scared me. I didn’t know how to cope with the idea of not having you around. And I had to figure out why it bothered me so much, why it bothered me more than losing Shiro did.”

Keith was sure that Lance could hear his pounding heartbeat from the other side of the bed. He had to. Keith felt like his head was pressed up against a subwoofer that was blaring a bass boosted remix with the way his pulse throbbed through it.

“I think…” Lance sighed once, closed his eyes briefly, and then continued, new determination flashing. “I think I’ve had feelings for you for a while, Keith. Like more than friendly feelings. I don’t know what that means for me yet, I haven’t figured all of it out. I always thought I was just some typical straight dude, but now I don’t know.” Keith had never seen Lance look so vulnerable before, the softness in his features was something entirely new. 

“Lance, I-”

“No don’t, I have to get this out.” Lance held up a hand to Keith before he continued. “I just. I need you to know why I did those things. Why I got so mad at you and why I kissed you and why I got so weird when I walked in on you in the shower-” Lance shook his head at the memory, a light flush blooming at the recollection. “I don’t expect you to react to this at all, I just had to tell someone, tell you, I mean. Just-”

Lance lost his words abruptly when Keith reached out a hand and grasped his forearm. He gave a light squeeze, meant as reassurance, and Lance raised his eyes to meet the violet ones sparkling gently from a few feet away.

“Lance,” Keith breathed, finally regaining command over himself, “I feel the same way.” 

Lance’s jaw dropped at the confession, he hadn’t been expecting this. Keith smiled at the innocent reaction before continuing.

“I’ve known for a while but I didn’t want to put any pressure on you or make you uncomfortable around me.” Keith traced his fingers over Lance’s skin, trailing them down to his hand where he wound their digits together. “And I still don’t want to do that. I care about you, but if you’re still figuring things out I won’t push it. I just want you to be happy.”

Warmth spread across Lance’s face, soothing warmth. His mouth broke into an easy smile and his eyes glittered with something between joy and mischief, something entirely Lance. He used the hand that was joined with Keith’s as leverage to pull the smaller boy closer to him and then leaned forward, closing the distance between them.

Keith’s breath hitched when Lance brought a hand up to gently cup his chin and hold him so their eyes met straight on. 

“You make me happy.”

Keith felt himself smile as Lance pressed forward and captured his lips. This kiss was different from the last. The heat, the desperation wasn’t there. Instead there was tenderness and patience. Their lips moved together slowly, sweetly, and Keith raised a hand to Lance’s face. He traced the line of Lance’s jaw up to his ear, and then let his hand disappear into the soft brown locks beyond. Lance’s hand was still on Keith’s chin, but softly crept around to the black hair in a mirror image of Keith’s actions.

How long they stayed like that, Keith couldn’t say. After some time Lance pulled away and leaned his forehead against Keith’s, eyes closed and chest heaving slightly. Keith opened his eyes just enough to see the smile pulling at the corners of Lance’s lips and he felt his heart soar. He was the reason for that smile. 

“So, I’m not an expert on gay culture or anything,” Keith snickered at Lance’s comment, amused at his wording. “But does this mean you’ll be my like… boyfriend or something?”

At that Keith let out a real laugh, pulling his head away from Lance’s. He hadn’t felt this light in years. Before Lance could react in a negative way though, Keith pulled both of Lance’s hands into his own on his lap. He smiled into the blue eyes of the boy who now belonged to him. 

“We’re in space. A thousand lightyears from home. Fighting an alien warlord who is 10,000 years old. In giant magic space cats. And you’re worried about titles?” Keith teased, pulling Lance’s hands to and fro, taking advantage of the physical link present between them.

Lance smirked at that. And he moved before Keith had time to react. Hands still intertwined, Lance pushed forward until Keith lay on his back, Lance hovering over him. Keith was surprised by the sudden change in position, but not displeased.

“I don’t like to share.” Lance leaned down close to Keith’s ear when he said it, and his voice was so low and husky it sounded more like a growl. Keith shivered, and Lance nipped playfully at his earlobe, pulling a small yelp and a throaty laugh from Keith.

Lance smiled and pulled back, sitting on Keith’s hips and staring down at him affectionately. Keith propped himself up on his elbows. “No sharing. Noted.” Lance beamed.

Keith felt himself smiling wider than he had since this whole space thing had started, allowed himself to feel true happiness for the first time in a very long time. He barked a laugh and pulled Lance down onto him again, this time in a hug. The first real hug Keith could remember.

He could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo i finally decided where this fic is going to go and it's going to be more plot than originally intended (which is why this chapter is more fluff) BUT i promise i will deliver angst and goods as well. 
> 
> i should know better than to try and write one shots because i looooove character development. it's a blessing and a curse.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here u go

“Hey, Hot Shot,” Keith rolled his eyes at the nickname and whacked Lance on the arm as he walked past him into the kitchen. Lance had that same smirk on his face that Keith always hated before, when Lance flirted with Allura endlessly. It had all seemed so cliche to him then, but now a familiar, easy smile fell over Keith’s features at Lance’s goofy expression. He felt the warmth of Lance’s gaze follow him as he walked over to the table and took a seat next to Shiro. 

It had been a little over a week since they had confessed their feelings to each other, and Keith was over the moon. He never would have imagined that the void in his life, developed when he lost his parents, could be filled by anyone, much less Lance. But whenever he saw those blue eyes he felt his heart flutter and an overwhelming calm settled over him. Lance was what he needed. 

They hadn’t told the others yet, deciding to keep the first few days of their fledgling relationship to themselves. So they held back around the other paladins in the kitchen, stealing loaded glances and smiles at each other from across the table. Shiro and Allura wanted the team to bond again, like the old days. So they all huddled around some obscure board game Pidge had found at the space mall and bickered like family over rules written in a language no one could read.

Keith didn’t mind the gentle banter. He had missed this, missed his teammates. 

“Hunk, you can’t just jump three spaces!” Allura was exasperated, eyes pleading with Hunk not to push the issue. So much for that.

“Yes, I can! Look, this card has three triangles and an ‘x.’ So it’s a multiplier! Multiply movement times three, I move three spaces!” Hunk’s smile was wide and innocent.

“We can’t read any of this, you don’t know if that’s a multiplier or not.” Pidge’s tone was matter-of-fact, and she was bent over the lid of the box, scanning the foreign directions into some search engine of her own design to find a translation.

“And last time you only let me move twice! You said three was too many!” Lance tried to seem irritated but Keith saw right through it. He was glad to have the old team back together too. 

The night continued on like that, all six paladins and Coran arguing over rules they didn’t understand, and eventually giving up to create their own. Pidge won. Go figure. 

Once they finished the game they sat around the table reminiscing. They talked about the very first missions they went on together, back when they were the underdogs. They’d come so far. The nostalgia tugged on Keith’s heart and he found himself getting a little sad that the next time the lions flew, he wouldn’t be one of the pilots. But he made himself shake that idea out of his head. Voltron was fighting for the good of the world, not his own self worth.

One by one, the group dwindled. It was late and Coran demanded that they return to training the next morning, right on schedule. No days off. 

When it was just Keith, Lance, and Shiro left, Keith rose to walk to the refrigerator to grab himself a bottle of water to take to bed. He heard footsteps leaving the room but couldn’t tell who they belonged to. He didn’t have to wonder for long.

“You come here often?” Lance was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively in Keith’s direction.

Keith’s laugh was genuine.

“You know, being my boyfriend doesn’t mean you can just use any cheesy pick up line you can come up with on me.” He smirked at Lance and turned back to the counter, twisting the cap off of his water bottle and taking a drink.

“No,” Lance’s voice was much closer than it was just a second ago. It reached Keith’s ears right before the bronze arms found his waist, winding around him from behind as Lance pressed his chest up against Keith’s back. “But it does mean that I can do this.” And then his lips pressed into the tender skin of Keith’s neck, tracing gently against his collarbone up to the shell of his ear. 

Keith sighed and closed his eyes at the sensation, tilted his head to the side to grant Lance further access to his neck. He felt Lance’s mouth twitch up into a smile before he planted a kiss right underneath Keith’s jaw.

Keith relented, turning around in Lance’s arms to face him and placing two hands on his chest. He looked up into the blue eyes he’d grown so fond of and smiled.

“We shouldn’t be doing this here. We could get caught.” Keith said it so half-heartedly that he couldn’t even believe himself. Lance smirked that smirk that dripped with mischief and narrowed his eyes.

“That’s what makes it fun.”

The hands on Keith’s waist moved lower, to the untouched skin where his thighs and ass met, gripped hard, and lifted him onto the kitchen counter behind him. Keith rolled his head back and laughed.

Lance was so close to him, personal bubble popped. He pulled Keith’s legs apart and stepped into him, pulling Keith to the edge of the counter so that their bodies met. He leaned in close, teasing, waiting.

Keith gave in quicker than he would’ve liked, but who was he to resist the charms of his boyfriend? His mouth found Lance’s easily and his arms fell quickly around his neck, pulling him even closer. 

They’d kissed plenty of times in the past week but this felt different. New heat; new need. Keith wrapped his legs around Lance’s waist and trapped him there against the counter. Lance faltered briefly, but then pulled away from this kiss gently, pulled back far enough to look into Keith’s eyes when he tucked a stray black hair behind an ear.

“What am I going to do with you?” Keith offered the question rhetorically, then pulled Lance back into him, his kiss even more fevered now. He parted his lips immediately, inviting Lance to explore. Lance answered with equal enthusiasm. He licked into Keith’s mouth and started gently rocking his hips forward. Keith gasped at the pressure and immediately felt himself harden. Lance felt it too; his quiet laugh gave him away.

“A lot. I hope.” The hands gripping Keith tightened, the grinding came harder and more determined. The kiss deepened further, became sloppy and urgent and wanting. Then Keith was moving with Lance, pushing forward at the same time to gain as much friction as possible. Heated sighs and wet smacks of skin on skin filled the room.

“Ahh fuck, Keith,” Lance groaned against his lips, pushing his hips harder into Keith’s body, finding the hardness that he needed and moving against it with purpose.

Keith was past the point of speaking, just moaning in response. And when Lance pulled away from their kiss and moved to Keith’s neck, biting and sucking on the exposed flesh, it was all Keith could do to keep himself quiet. But-

Footsteps down the hall stopped them both in their tracks. Keith’s eyes flew open and landed on the door to the kitchen, standing wide, light on, revealing the two of them for the whole castle to see. He unwrapped himself from Lance and pushed him away, jumping down from the counter just as Pidge rounded the corner to the room. 

“Oh. I didn’t know anyone was still up.” She walked around them quickly, straight to the fridge to get water. She didn’t say anything about their flushed faces and wide eyes. She didn’t say anything at all. Just got her water and turned to leave. Then she got back to the door and stopped. She turned around quickly and a sly smile was etched on her face. “Have fun.”

Keith only breathed again when he heard the door to her room open and close.

“I told you!”

“Oh relax, mullet. She didn’t see anything.”

And Lance was walking, pulling Keith with him out of the kitchen and into the hallway. They walked together in silence, hand in hand, until they got to the first of their two doors. Lance moved to drop Keith’s hand, to go to his own room, but Keith stopped him.

He hadn’t done so consciously, but he decided to trust his mind even if he couldn’t quite keep up.

Lance looked at him, brows furrowed slightly.

“Stay with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> light smut with some plot, i have a brand, what can i say?
> 
> next chapter will pick up right where this leaves off


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~if~ there's a heaven then when i die god will side eye me so hard and casually ask, "what about that time you wrote gay fanfic smut about a pair of characters in a children's cartoon?" and we'll laugh and laugh and I'll go to hell
> 
>  
> 
> also i can italicize if i use rich text instead of html. so. that's something.

Lance followed Keith over the door’s threshold and into his room. Neither stopped to check that the door locked or even that it closed, too preoccupied with the rushed kisses and urgent movement toward Keith’s bed.

 

Keith felt the backs of his knees crash into the mattress before Lance pushed him down. He bounced once on the bed and looked up at Lance, smiling when he saw the hunger in his eyes. And when Lance leaned over Keith to climb onto him, Keith backed up, daring Lance to chase him up to the pillows. Lance took the bait, following Keith’s lead without pause until he hovered over the smaller boy at the head of the bed and grinned down at him.

 

That smile. It took Keith’s breath away every damn time. It was like staring into the sun. He could sit and just watch Lance smile all day.

 

He felt a fire burn deep in his stomach, pooling deeper still, stirring up interest below, and this time it wasn’t enough just to look. So he reached out to touch Lance’s face and traced his fingers across the deep pink of Lance’s lips. Lance closed his eyes at the touch, moved with Keith’s hand to gently kiss the fingertips. Then, in a move that Keith truly couldn’t have anticipated, Lance opened his mouth and closed it around Keith’s fingers.

 

Keith’s mouth dropped open at the feeling of Lance’s tongue rolling over the pads of his fingers, sucking them into the wet cavern of his mouth sinfully. Lance held onto Keith’s wrist, keeping the hand in place, and pressed his already hard cock against Keith’s. He opened his eyes to watch the display of emotions on Keith’s face as he sucked, as he ground their need together.

 

“Nngh, Lance,” Keith whined, twisting his spare hand in Lance’s shirt and yanking him down on top of him, removing his fingers from Lance’s mouth, and crashing their lips together once more. He felt more than heard Lance laugh against him, and moaned when Lance pulled away from the kiss, teeth closed around Keith’s bottom lip and tugging lightly. “Fuck, you are such a tease.”

 

Lance didn’t respond. Instead, he sat back on his knees and pulled his shirt over his head, grabbed it by the collar at the back of his neck and threw it onto the floor. He then started pulling at the hem of Keith’s shirt, jostling the boy below him until he was able to discard of that one as well. He grabbed Keith’s thighs and pulled them apart, creating new space for himself between Keith’s legs. He leaned into it, rubbing sweet friction into Keith’s body. He leaned down and brought his lips close to Keith’s ear; Keith shivered at the sensation. Then Lance spoke.

 

“No one’s teasing.”

 

Lance captured Keith’s lips again, and this time Keith let Lance take control. He wound his hands into Lance’s hair and held on for the ride, letting Lance set the pace entirely. He let Lance nibble on his bottom lip, suck Keith’s tongue into his mouth, sweep wet kisses along Keith’s jaw. He moaned lightly when Lance started biting slowly down the side of his neck, but otherwise let the boy do as he pleased. 

 

Keith was so preoccupied with the pleasant heat radiating from his core at Lance’s affection that he didn’t notice Lance’s hands beginning a slow descent down. He only realized that the hands had left his chest when he felt a brand new pressure against him and looked down to find Lance palming his hard dick through his sweats.

 

“Fuck,” Keith whispered, head falling backward, eyes squeezing shut. He heard a low chuckle in answer from the crook of his neck and then Lance was  _ moving _ and his hand was stroking the length of Keith’s cock through the fabric and Keith could  _ feel _ the heat of his hand against his most sensitive skin and he was needy and desperate in a whole new way. So he rolled his hips up into Lance’s hand and moaned at the exquisite pressure.

 

“Yeah baby, you like that?” Lance breathed the question against Keith’s ear, using his tongue to lick gently at the lobe before tugging it between his teeth again. Lance liked to bite. A shudder ripped through Keith before he could stop it, his body responding to Lance’s words before his mouth could. “You want more?” Lance was trailing his kisses lower, biting Keith’s collarbone and then dragging his teeth against the taut skin of his chest, against the ridges of muscle and the tough lines of old battle scars. 

 

“Fuck, yes. Please,” Keith’s voice was little more than a whimper at this point, and Lance just kept going. He moved his mouth over one of Keith’s nipples and flicked his tongue around the hard nub, earning a sharp squeak and an arched back from Keith. But that wasn’t Lance’s destination and he kept going, trailing kisses lower, letting his tongue trace the edges of Keith’s abs and then dip into the defined lines moving dangerously low, dangerously close. 

 

Lance lifted his hand away from Keith’s erection when his face was almost level with it, pulled Keith’s attention from the hands he had clenched in the sheets and the spot on the ceiling he had stared at for so long. Keith raised his head and looked down, saw Lance level with his cock and groaned. Instinct had him rutting upwards to find some friction, but Lance just smiled and pushed the hips back down. He kept eye contact with Keith as his hand crept closer to the waistband of the black sweatpants and slid them down, past Keith’s ass and halfway down his thighs. Keith’s breath hitched when Lance’s eyes zeroed in on the obvious impression of his dick in his thin cotton boxer briefs.

 

He lost the ability to breathe entirely when Lance leaned down and opened his mouth around the still covered head, engulfing Keith in heat he had never before experienced. Low growls escaped from the back of Keith’s throat as Lance continued to kiss and lick along the shaft, eyes occasionally flicking up to meet Keith’s in a heated game of wills, each waiting to see what it would take for the other to crack. 

 

But Lance tired of the game quickly, pulling his mouth from Keith with a pop, earning an indignant noise in response. He raised himself to his knees and pulled Keith’s legs up, vertical from the bed, and pulled the sweatpants up and off of Keith completely. He leaned down to grip the waist of Keith’s underwear to do the same to them, then paused, eyes searching for approval before he crossed this line.

 

“Is this okay?” The strain in Lance’s voice was obvious, the lust in his clouded eyes distracting as all hell, but Keith still heard the sincerity in his boyfriend’s voice, knew that Lance would stop right now if Keith just asked. But he didn’t ask. He didn’t want to ask. Still staring into Lance’s eyes, Keith nodded once, and then gasped as the thin fabric was pulled away from his heated skin and the crisp air hit the throbbing ache in his cock.

 

Lance seemed stunned for a moment, sitting still and ogling the completely naked boy below him. Keith raised himself onto his elbows and stared at Lance, watched Lance stare down at him. Lance’s eyes snapped up to Keith’s once and he flashed a dangerous smile before he moved.

 

One hand reached out for Keith’s cock and closed around the tip, thumb swiping across the slit in the head to collect the few beads of pre cum that had accumulated and then spreading the liquid down, down, moving to the base of the shaft and then back up, wrist circling, fingers applying subtle variations in pressure, breath close enough to exhale heat onto the hard length.

 

Keith was lost to his moans, eyes glued shut and head thrown back, hips snapping involuntarily into Lance’s hand while he stroked. 

 

Keith couldn’t believe where he was, who he was with, what they were doing, but all he could think was Lance, Lance,  _ Lance _ . All he could feel was the heavenly pressure as his boyfriend jerked him off, and then-

 

And  _ then _ he felt something wet touch the base of his cock and start moving toward the tip. Keith lurched forward, eyes wide open in time to see Lance’s tongue reach the head, swipe across the slit in the head and then circle it completely, tasting every side before opening wide and taking it into his mouth. 

 

“ _ Lance. _ ” Keith gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep his eyes open, to watch and admire the way Lance was gently sucking the head into his mouth, both hands continuing to twist around the shaft, spreading his saliva around to make the slide easier, eyes burning into Keith’s the entire time. 

 

Lance got braver with each twist of his wrist, each gentle suck on the head of Keith’s cock, and when Keith’s hands left the sheets to tangle in Lance’s hair and his hips began to raise into the heat on autopilot, that was all the encouragement Lance needed.

 

Keith felt the hands still at the base of his cock, saw Lance steel himself before he slid further down, taking Keith halfway into his mouth before he stilled, hollowed his cheeks, and started bobbing his head up and down. 

 

Keith was  _ gone _ . A strangled groan, almost primal, was the only noise he could make as he watched his cock disappear again and again into the mouth of this boy he had wanted for months. Watched with his jaw dropped open in awe as Lance, a boy who hadn’t known he was attracted to men until a few weeks ago, sucked down a dick like it was his life’s calling.

 

“Fuck, Lance,  _ yes _ .”

 

It didn’t take long for the heat to swirl in Keith’s gut, for the tightness between his legs to increase and the telltale pull of oncoming orgasm to flash through him.

 

He gripped onto Lance’s hair tighter and started pushing up to meet Lance’s movements down, not enough to gag him but enough to find the extra friction that Keith knew would bring him to the finish line.

 

“Lance-” Keith whined, struggling to find his voice in the waves of pleasure he was experiencing, “Lance I’m gonna cum!”

 

Lance’s response came quick in the form of a hum, the vibrations sending shockwaves through Keith’s body and exploding in the most intense orgasm he had ever experienced. He came in Lance’s mouth, hot spurts of liquid shooting down his throat, and Lance did his best to catch it all, to not let any of Keith’s cum go to waste. Five or six strings came out in quick succession, and only the last one dribbled out of Lance’s mouth and down his chin. 

 

Lance pulled off of Keith’s cock with a wet pop and swallowed thickly, doing his best to get the load down before he wiped the excess from his face and licked it from his fingers to the tune of Keith choking at the image, blown away at just how dirty Lance could be.

 

Lance smiled and got up to clean himself off. Before Keith could bring up the topic at the front of his mind, Lance’s own erection, he saw the now flaccid cock and the handful of cum Lance carried, and realized that Lance had jerked himself off to sucking Keith’s cock. Keith shivered and felt interest stir in his gut again at the thought, but pushed it aside. It was late and he was spent. That interest would have to wait. 

 

Keith felt the bed next to him dip and then strong arms wrap around him, pulling him close, pulling his back up against a warm and sturdy chest. Lance pulled him into the cuddle from behind, brought a light flush to Keith’s face when he realized he was the little spoon.

 

“Good?” Lance asked innocently, nuzzling into Keith’s neck and planting chaste kisses along the bite marks he had left earlier.

 

“Mhm.” Keith murmured, eyes suddenly heavy and body relaxing within the warm embrace. “I owe you.”

 

Lance chuckled once before he curled into Keith, sighing dreamily into his hair.

 

Keith felt himself smile before he drifted into the most peaceful sleep he could remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know how when you're overwhelmed your thoughts kind of run together and run over each other and don't complete themselves and it's like one big run on sentence? yeah? that's this chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry i took so long to update tbh i had to cleanse my soul from chapter 8 lmao rip me i'm over that now tgod
> 
> also buckle your seat belts this is almost twice as long as any of the previous chapters ??? idk man

Keith had meant to return Lance’s favor the next morning after recovering some of his energy. That was the plan, but you know what they say about best laid plans.

 

He woke in the middle of the night, still being held by Lance, to his Blade sword flashing purple and emitting a shrill siren that only Galra could hear. No wonder Lance was still asleep. Keith looked over his shoulder to find Lance’s face pressed firmly between his shoulder blades, breath coming in even intervals, dead to the world.

 

Keith slowly peeled himself away, almost impressed with his stealth when he managed to extricate himself from his boyfriend’s long limbs without waking him. He hastily pulled on his BoM suit and grabbed both his sword and mask from the dresser before opening the door and entering the hallway, leaving Lance still asleep in Keith’s room.

 

Keith sprinted down the corridor to find Kolivan and the others, finally stopping outside a grand conference room he had never even seen before. Several members were already there, huddled around their leader with arms crossed and grim expressions on their faces. Some already had their masks on.

 

“What happened?” Keith asked immediately, pushing his way past some low ranking members to get to Kolivan. He may be young, but Keith had proved himself since he first joined the Blade, and with so many of his friends aboard the ship, he wasn’t taking chances with this one.

 

Kolivan looked up at the new voice entering the conversation. Keith saw the map he had been studying, saw the flashing red lights moving closer to the castle.

 

“Ambush. It’s a small crew of Galra fighter class pilots. We won’t be sending in the full team. No need.” Kolivan turned the map so that Keith could see it more clearly, and now he could make out the six or seven fighter jets closing in on the castle. “Just a few good pilots, nothing more is necessary.”

 

“Send me.” Keith said it immediately, meeting Kolivan’s eyes with purpose.

 

“No.”

 

“What?” Keith felt like the wind had been kicked out of him. He looked around at the other Blade members incredulously. Someone surely had to talk some sense into their leader, right? A few of them smirked, a few turned away. “I’m the best pilot we’ve got.”

 

“You’re a good pilot, Kogane. Don’t get too full of yourself.” Kolivan took back the map, turned it off, tucked it away neatly into his belt. He turned and signaled to three other members to leave for the hangar and find their fighter jets.

 

“You are already awake though, so it would be a shame to waste your time. Though by the looks of it, you’ve been doing quite well wasting time all by yourself.” Kolivan’s eyes trailed down Keith’s jaw and over the small red marks that Lance had left the night before. Keith felt the blush rise on his face, all the way to the tips of his ears. He opened his mouth to respond but couldn’t find the words.

 

“You’ll go with Xegnis. The Alteans need teleduv lenses for their wormhole jumps. We’ll need to jump once we’ve disposed of these fighters. Can’t have Zarkon knowing our location for much longer.”

 

“Where are we supposed to find those?” Keith fought to keep his voice steady; he was trapped somewhere between anger at being benched for this mission and horror at Kolivan seeing the love bites from Lance.

 

The question brought a rare smirk to the captain’s face, he was clearly amused with the situation he was putting Keith in.

 

“I believe you’ve visited this location once before, Kogane. You should know.”

 

***

 

Space mall.

 

Over a year in space as a defender of the universe and paladin of Voltron, several months of intensive training to join the Blade of Marmora, and a widely accepted reputation on Earth as one of the best fighter pilots to come around in years, and what did that get him? A trip to the mall as the Blade’s errand boy.

 

After Kolivan had given the order, Keith and Xegnis were told to change back into civilian clothes so as to not draw attention to themselves in their BoM purple. When Keith went back to his room to change, he was much less careful, waking Lance up with his small outbursts and ranting under his breath. Lance understood what was going on after listening to Keith vent for a few minutes, and the taller boy wrangled Keith into a hug to calm him down before he left. Keith would never admit it to anyone else, but the physical contact did help.

 

So now he found himself alone, wandering the space mall once again. He had rightly pointed out to Xegnis that a random Galra walking around in the space mall would draw unwanted attention, so the other man stayed in the space pod while Keith carried out the mission.

 

He was still irritated at being sidelined from the main party this time, but part of Keith was glad for the alone time. He remembered exactly where the sketchy shop was from the last time he came here with Coran and the other paladins, but he decided to just take his time instead.

 

Keith stopped in a few random stores that caught his attention, never buying anything, but not in any particular rush either. His thoughts inevitably traveled to Lance, and to what they had done the night before. Or, to be more concise, what _Lance_ had done to _him_.

 

And Keith was reminded of his determination from that morning. He would return the favor to Lance, and he would do it right. He felt a grin stretch across his face as the possibilities flooded his mind. Screw Kolivan and screw the Blade. If they were going to take advantage of his talents, he would take advantage of their mission.

 

With renewed energy, Keith set off in the opposite direction in the space mall. He had just the store in mind.

 

***

 

It was late that evening when Keith finally set his plan in motion.

 

The castle was still, asleep. The lights were all dimmed and the effect made the stars outside the windows even brighter than usual. Keith noticed this with a pleasant hum as he made his way through the quiet hallway. With every step he could feel his recent purchases in his pocket, fueling his confidence and drive to follow through.

 

He stilled for a moment when he reached Lance’s door, then took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders once before knocking. It took Lance a while to get the door, and once it was open Keith was met with a bemused expression. Lance was confused but not unhappy. His mouth twitched up at the corners and he ran one hand through his messy brown hair.

 

Keith followed the movement with his eyes, and then he watched as realization dawned over Lance’s features. Keith knew what he saw. He knew that Lance must be seeing the hunger in his eyes, and rigid clench of his jaw as his eyes ran over Lance’s face, his broad shoulders and exposed collarbone, looking more intimidating and predatory than Lance had ever seen him.

 

But Lance wasn’t afraid. He opened the door wider and then Keith was on him, mouth open and hands greedily searching for purchase on his skin. Lance slammed the door shut absently, a small whimper escaping him as he let Keith ravish him.

 

He whimpered. Fucking _whimpered_. God, he was so cute.

 

Keith growled at the innocent sound as it left Lance and pushed him backward until he fell onto the bed. Keith immediately followed him down and tried to find his lips again, but Lance just smiled and backed up, drawing Keith up to the top of the bed with him. Keith laughed and chased Lance to the pillows, settling between his long legs and bringing their lips together again.

 

Keith did his best to distract Lance with the kisses so that he wouldn’t notice the rope when he pulled it from his pocket.

 

Without warning Keith grabbed both of Lance’s wrists and pulled them above his head, holding them together in one of his own while he wound the rope around both.

 

It took Lance a moment to realize what was happening, and then he looked from Keith to the rope to his own bound wrists with worry lines creasing his browns.

 

“What are y-” Lance’s question was cut off by a brisk kiss before Keith was securing his work on Lance’s wrists to the headboard. “What?”

 

Lance didn’t look scared anymore, instead confusion registered clearly across his features. For a moment Keith lost himself in the blue eyes shining with questions, then he placed a quick kiss on Lance’s forehead and pulled his own shirt over his head.

 

“You made last night all about me…” Keith started to explain, using his fingers to trace along Lance’s jaw and down his neck. He paused when he got to the collar of Lance’s night shirt, frowning. “Do you care about this shirt?”

 

The question caught Lance off guard and it took him a second to recover. “No, it’s just an old sh-”

 

And Keith was ripping the shirt open right down the front, exposing Lance’s beautiful bronzed skin and drawing a breathy gasp from his throat at the sudden movement. Keith smirked at the noise and moved his hands over the expanse of bare chest before him, caressing Lance’s sides before he continued.

 

“So tonight I want it to be all about you.”

 

Keith swallowed Lance’s objection when he slotted their mouths back together. He didn’t stay there long, instead opting to move his lips to Lance’s ear, sucking lightly on the flesh before pulling on the lobe with his teeth. He laughed lightly when he felt Lance attempt to pull against the rope. He heard the grunt of frustration when Lance remembered that he was bound.

 

That noise just spurred him on faster. He moved quickly from Lance’s ear down to his neck and peppered sloppy kisses in his wake. Then he took his time moving down, picking and choosing small areas to bite or suck on the skin and then lick over it, soothing the redness that rose to the surface. He kept moving lower, passing the smooth planes of Lance’s pectorals on to the surprisingly well-defined muscles decorating his abdomen. Lance was lanky but his long body truly was all muscle.

 

Keith brough one hand up to Lance’s neck while he continued to kiss lower, and slowly, _slowly_ trailed his fingernails down the skin that was now sensitive from his oral assault.

 

Lance gasped, heavy, and pulled against the ropes. He whined when he found no give in the grip, and his legs kicked out like a child having a tantrum.

 

“ _Keeeeeitthhhh_ ,” Lance closed his eyes and let his head fall back, thoroughly frustrated with his current situation but still managing to be adorable.

 

More to relieve some of Lance’s burden than anything, Keith brought his hands to the hem of Lance’s pajama pants and pulled. Lance lifted his hips off the bed to help, and in seconds Keith had both Lance’s pants and boxers on the ground. Lance sighed when the cool air hit the throbbing need between his legs, but Keith didn’t give him much time to adjust.

 

His hand wrapped around Lance’s dick instantly, pulling a high pitched groan from the blue paladin. Keith let Lance get used to the pressure for a few seconds, long enough to reach into his pocket and remove the small tube of space lube he had managed to find that day and place it next to them on the bed for easy access later.

 

Just for a moment, with Lance lying there on his back, breath heavy and dick hot and waiting, Keith doubted himself. He had never done anything like this before. Sure, he’d watched porn just like any human teenager, and he had been on the receiving end of what he considered a pretty good blow job just last night, but was he really up for this?

 

But then Lance whined again, pulled against the ropes, and Keith’s name was spilling from his mouth. Like the most amazing melody Keith had ever heard. And he would be _damned_ if he let that beautiful voice go unsatisfied.

 

So Keith let his ego soar, deciding to fake it until it was real, and licked once from the base of Lance’s cock all the way to the tip, beaming when Lance shuddered at the feeling.

 

Keith repeated his motion several more times, spreading his saliva all over Lance’s dick for an easier stroke with his hand. He twisted his grip at the base and started moving his hand up and down, adjusting the pressure constantly, moving his hand around Lance in a fluid motion reminiscent of the way he jerked himself off when he was alone.

 

With one hand preoccupied, Keith moved his other to Lance’s balls and squeezed them gently, rolling them between the pads of his thumb and forefinger, teasing him with the pressure.

 

Lance’s voice reached a higher pitch then, and Keith grinned at the effect he was having.

 

So he stopped licking and instead took the whole head of Lance’s cock into his mouth, swirled his tongue around it, and sucked _hard_. The resulting noise from Lance was a shot straight to Keith’s own arousal, pooling hot deep in his stomach.

 

“Keith- fuck, ah- let me see you.”

 

Keith looked up immediately when Lance said it, and saw the problem. Lance couldn’t keep his head upright, so he was laid back on the pillows, pulling against the ropes so hard they were digging into his wrists. Keith pulled himself off of Lance to collect a few pillows, fluff them up behind his boyfriend’s head enough that he would be able to watch. A tingle of excitement ran through Keith at the new position. Time to put on a show.

 

He took his place again between Lance’s legs, and looked directly into the blue eyes when he swallowed the head of Lance’s cock back down, taking more of it in than he had before. Lance groaned and pulled against the ropes, involuntarily at this point, just aching to touch Keith.

 

He stopped pulling when Keith truly surprised him. He pulled off of Lance for a split second, steadied one hand at the base of his cock, smirked, and then took all of Lance into his mouth without breaking eye contact. Keith’s own moan met and mingled in the air with Lance’s when he felt the cock hit the back of his throat and continue on, pushing further down than he would’ve thought possible.

 

And Lance had lost it. Head thrashing from side to side, legs splayed and kicking out, eyes rolling back in his head. Keith took both hands and locked them under either of Lance’s knees, pushing them up, exposing even more of Lance’s body and giving Keith more room to work.

 

He pushed further still, thanking the gods that he had been blessed with no gag reflex, and chanced a growl around Lance’s cock. The sound sent vibrations all throughout the shaft. Lance answered with a shout and a quick upward thrust, fully seating himself within Keith’s throat, Keith’s nose pressed lightly against Lance’s groin. Keith felt tears prick up in his eyes at the fullness he had never felt, but he let out a deep, satisfied groan nonetheless.

 

He started moving up slowly, then down again. After a few experimental movements, and positive affirmations from Lance, Keith was bobbing his head up and down with urgency, all hollowed cheeks and hazy eyes. Lance was meeting him with every movement, thrusting up into Keith’s throat with as much as he could given the ropes that still held his wrists.

 

“Ah, fuck, Keith. So good.”

 

“Nnnngh,” was the only answer Keith could give, but the sound and the vibrations broke something within Lance. He thrusted harder and faster, over and over into Keith’s throat, and his voice was straight out of Keith’s fantasies.

 

“You look so good like this.” Lance punctuated each word with a thrust, each harder than the last, and the tears spilled down Keith’s cheeks.

 

“You love this, don’t you? Having your throat fucked? God, I wish I could touch you and give it to you for real.”

 

Drool was spilling over from Keith’s mouth, the tears mixing with it, and even though his throat burned with every thrust, Keith absolutely refused to stop. He let one hand wander down to his own neglected need and started stroking himself feverishly, determined to get off with Lance.

 

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Me holding onto your hair and fucking your pretty throat? Or maybe I should just turn you over and fuck you for real. Yeah? How’s that sound?”

 

At this point Keith was seeing stars. He knew Lance was still staring at him but he couldn’t see past the blurry tears staining his vision. His hand worked even faster on his cock and he moaned at the double stimulation, sending another round of vibrations up the veins along Lance’s dick, and that was it.

 

Lance yelled out as he thrust into Keith’s throat even harder and deeper than before, finding his release and shooting strand after strand of hot cum straight into Keith’s waiting mouth. The combination of Lance’s cries and the warmth flooding his throat brought Keith to his own climax, and he moaned around Lance’s cock, still in his mouth, as he came into his hand.

 

When Keith had swallowed what had to be all of Lance’s cum, he pulled himself off with a wet pop, a thin string of saliva connecting his mouth to Lance’s dick until he waved a hand through to break it.

 

When he looked at Lance he found eyes blown wide, trained on his own face, chest heaving and tattered remains of the shirt he had torn stuck to Lance’s chest with the sweat. Keith’s own breath was coming in shallow pants, and he got up from the bed to get a towel. He wiped off his hand and his mouth, surprised to find that his own spit had traveled down to his collarbone.

 

Then he returned to Lance and gently untied the ropes. Lance’s wrists were red and inflamed from struggling, so Keith alternated kisses between them in a silent apology.

 

Arms now free, Lance tugged Keith down onto him and held him there. A hand brought itself up to Keith’s cheek and rubbed absently against it, caressing the soft skin.

 

They stayed like that for a while, each catching their breath and letting their minds wander.

 

Only then did Keith remember the little bottle of lube he had left somewhere near their feet. He giggled before he could even help it, and turned his head into Lance’s neck, where the giggle blossomed into a full body laugh. Lance caught the laugh and joined in without a second thought.

 

Once Keith had recovered enough composure to speak, he pulled back just far enough to look up at Lance, who stared right back at him with a blissfully happy smile on his face.

 

“I went out of my way today to find lube and we didn’t even use it.”

 

Keith offered a fake pout, jutting his bottom lip out, but the mischievous glint in his violet eyes gave him away.

 

Lance laughed and kissed the pout right off of Keith’s face. Then he pulled him closer and snuggled into him, eyes closing during a deep sigh, drowsiness finally taking over.

 

Keith felt sleep take him almost instantly, but not before he heard the faintest of whispers next to his ear.

 

“Yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :-)

**Author's Note:**

> will try to update regularly!
> 
> interact with me on twitter @ firelordshiro !!!


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